Neem Anna - EIC Bombay presidency ,Copper ½ Anna (Neem Anna)

[Coinsforever]

Here is an  image of a coin - East India Company - Bombay Presidency,Copper ½ Anna (Neem Anna)




Can some one throw light about this Neem Anna , what is  significance behind  calling this 1/2 Anna coin as Neem Anna. During recent Ahmadabad auction by Todywalla coin was offered as :

Copper ½ Anna (Neem Anna), EIC bale mark on obv., scales, value and date in Devanagari, 1821 AD, struck at local Southern Konkan.

I find similar thread here    
Bhopal State Quarter Anna posted by Aditya with nice illustration from Oesho two year ago.


I didn't find any relevance why such coins were designated as Neem Anna.

Cheers

[abhinumis]

Awsome coin!!! n very scarce also.. really made my day!! thanks!!

[Figleaf]

The coin you show is a continuation of an Anglo-Indian type struck since 1728, though this type was first minted in 1802. There are several sizes (denominations) in the series, but most do not have a value on them. There are two exceptions, the 2 pice 1802-1808, which has a 2 and the 4 pice 1802-1816, which carries a 4. By analogy, the smaller coins were probably meant to be expressed in pice, not annas.

Nevertheless, the term anna existed and not just for coins. It was used for 1/16th of just about anything. It follows that a coin of an anna refers to 1/16th of a rupee, so that a half anna is 1/32 rupee. Some local rulers struck silver coins of 1/16th rupee (ex: Gwalior under Madho Rao), so it is clear that anna originally referred to a silver coin. It may have been less a denomination and more a popular name for a subdivision of the rupee.

At some point, the silver coin became a copper coin. The oldest legal reference I could find was in the Indian coinage act of 1870 (No. XXIII). It says (paraphrased):

Subordinate to the rupee are the following coins: -

(a) Silver:
    1. Half Rupee.
    2. Quarter rupee, or 4-anna piece.
    3. An eighth of a rupee, or 2-anna piece.

(...)

(b) Copper:
    1. A double pice, or half-anna.
    2. A pice, or quarter anna.
    3. A half-pice, or one eighth of an anna.
    4. A pie, being one-third of a pice, or 1-12th of an anna

The weight of the double pice is 200 grains, that of the other copper coins being proportionate...

We may conclude that in 1870, there is no coin of one anna. However, the term is being used in the law to connect the silver and copper denominations. If you have 4 coins of a pice, it is perfectly correct to say that you have one anna. Likewise, if you have two copper coins of 200 grains, it is fine to say that you have one anna. Therefore, if you have one copper double pice, you have half an anna. this suggests a fine distinction between pice (coin) and half anna (amount). However, the distinction must have been lost already, because from 1830, coins were struck with the denomination quarter anna and half anna.

My conclusion: at some time between 1816 and 1830, pice and half anna became synonyms, while before that, pice was a coin, anna a measure. It may be quite difficult to pin an exact date on the change, it probably occurred gradually. Therefore, it is probably better to call the coin a pice, but if you prefer to call it a half anna you will be fully understood.

Peter

[Coinsforever]

Copper ½ Anna (Neem Anna), EIC bale mark on obv., scales, value and date in Devanagari, 1821 AD, struck at local Southern Konkan.

Nice illustrations of pice , anna by Peter.

Thanks a lot ,  may be I've not addressed correctly  ,the key query to my post remain unanswered.

Refer marked devnagri script on the coin :NEEM ANNA ,  what was purpose to use this designation to this 1/2 anna coin as Neem Anna.

I guess definetly  there was some purpose of  using devnagri on this presidency coin of East India Company with designation as Neem Anna

By googling I find  there are some reference indicated in pridmore but  could't find  elaborated  details.

If some one has Pridmore kindly scan the relevant page.

Cheers

[malj1]

If some one has Pridmore kindly scan the relevant page.

Here is the relevant entry to your Pridmore 323
However unable to find a mention of 'Neem' I now find 'Neem' means half.

Quarter (Pau)
Half (Neem)
One (Eek)

[Coinsforever]

Here is the relevant entry to your Pridmore 323
However unable to find a mention of 'Neem' I now find 'Neem' means half.

Quarter (Pau)
Half (Neem)
One (Eek)

Thanks for information .

Half - in devnagri/Hindi/Urdu = Aadha = 1/2 , why NEEM ?

Furhter  due to imageshack problem I could not able to view the image of pridmore posted by you  , can you forward these pages to my e-mail.

Cheers

[Bimat]

In Marathi, Neem means 'Half', we even have Pawki (series of multiples of 0.25), Neemki (series of multiples of 0.5)...

Aditya

[Md. Shariful Islam]

In Bangla language 'Neem' means 'ardha'. For example, 'Neem raaji' means 'half convinced' where raaji means convinced. I don't know which language 'neem' derived from into Bangla language. Mainly Bangla is influenced by Sanskrit. But she is also indebted to other languages like Parsian, English, Arabic, Portuguese, etc.

Islam

[$$]

Dear all

It feels great to be member of WOC, the expert we have on WOC are genius (The word seems smaller in front of them)

What a knowledge they all have about the coinage history.

I alway think how do i contribute to this.

Samir

[abhinumis]

Hi all,
Samir seems to have written my thoughts.. really learn a lot everyday!!
But I have a doubt..
I have a half pice( aadha paisa) of the same series( bombay presidency south concan mint 182?) where aadha is written and not 'neem paisa'.. if neem was part of the common vocabulary of the region then aadha paisa should have been 'neem paisa' but neem is written with only anna.. why the word 'neem' is used with only anna?
cheers

[asm]

This series has 'Ardha' pisa & Paisa as well as Neem Anna. Colloquially neem means small so it could well mean a small or part Anna. It is a thought and I am not sure.

Amit
   

[Coinsforever]

In Marathi, Neem means 'Half', we even have Pawki (series of multiples of 0.25), Neemki (series of multiples of 0.5)...

Aditya

The views shared by both the gentlemen are convincing and make sense. we are going in right direction to explore this  mystery of NEEM Anna


Further pridmore is gem of reference book which helps a lot to understand the  basic purpose /reason for mintage /keeping  such denomination for these coins.

Thanks to all the members for their contribution.
Cheers

In Bangla language 'Neem' means 'ardha'. For example, 'Neem raaji' means 'half convinced' where raaji means convinced. I don't know which language 'neem' derived from into Bangla language. Mainly Bangla is influenced by Sanskrit. But she is also indebted to other languages like Parsian, English, Arabic, Portuguese, etc.

Islam

[Bimat]

As the catalog also mentions that the coin was struck in Southern Konkan area (which is primarily Marathi and Konkani language speaking), that might be the reason why Neem was used instead of Aadha..

Aditya

[abhinumis]

Yes true 'neem' coloquially means a part or half.. but that logic should apply to 'ardha paisa' and it should have been called 'neem paisa' but it isn't!! This term 'neem', it seems is only associated with anna and not other denominations.. I haven't heard of 'neem rupya' in the series(experts pls correct if i'm wrong).. That is what I find different..
cheers

[Oesho]

Dear All, Neem is a Persian word and means as you all discovered 'half'. It's the language which the Mughals used and from which Urdu is derived. The British used Urdu (in Persian script) as the administrative language, rather than Hindi in Devanagari.
The coin concerned was struck at Bankot (Fort Victoria) on the Konkan Coast and are fully described in an article by Paul Stevens in the ONS-NL 179 (2004): The coins of the Bombay Presidency, The Bankot Mint. p.28-32.

The word neem is used on some other denominations as well, like the Neem Ashrafi struck by the British East India Company in the Madras Presidency. The coin is not dated, but was struck around 1819. Ref.: Pr.242.
The word Ādh for half is also found on some denominations, like the attached 1/2 anna of Jodhpur State, struck in the name Edward VII and Sardar Singh, dated AD1908.